THUNDER BAY — "Things can change very quickly with this virus," Thunder Bay District Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janet DeMille cautioned Wednesday, after a meeting of the city's Municipal Emergency Control Group.
The group, which represents organizations from all three levels of government as well as the education, health care and transportation sectors, meets bi-weekly to coordinate the community's approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeMille called the district's high vaccination rate and low case numbers increasingly reassuring, saying "we are in a very good circumstance going into winter."
However, she added that COVID-19 "can seemingly appear out of nowhere," so it remains important to keep following public health measures.
DeMille encouraged individuals not yet vaccinated to get both doses as quickly as possible.
Mayor Bill Mauro echoed her carefully measured comments about the pandemic's status in the Thunder Bay area.
He said the community "is in a good place" right now, but "we cannot underestimate the variants that still exist, and their ability to show up here and spread very quickly."
Mauro said the risk will grow with the onset of colder weather and increased indoor activity.
